Tania scowled, gripping Isabel’s arm tightly in both hands.
“It’s like you’re barely alive—like you’re only here because you just couldn’t manage to die!”
Her hands trembled where they held Isabel’s arm.
“No matter whether it’s a treaty between winners and losers, how could they do this? In this day and age, how can anyone treat a person as if they’re just an object?”
While they spoke, the sun had set, and the wind now beat fiercely against the window, making the confusion in Isabel’s mind flare up all the more, as if someone were pouring oil on an open fire.
It had been so long since anyone had gotten truly angry for her—raised their voice on her behalf—that Isabel felt a forgotten sensation come alive and rush through her.
“Tania, I—”
She hadn’t expected this.
She’d thought that once Tania had inherited the throne of her country, too much would have changed for her to ever truly understand Isabel’s experience as a hostage of a defeated kingdom. Even if Tania did empathise, Isabel expected it to be only skin-deep — certainly not in public. But the warmth of her old friend after all this time was almost overwhelming.
And yet, her head felt light and dizzy. She couldn’t thank Tania for this — not here, not now.
“I’m all right.”
“What?”
“You don’t have to get involved.”
“Isabel.”
“This isn’t something you need to fight for.”
“What are you even saying right now?!”
Because if Tania let her emotions get the better of her here, there would be no cleaning up the aftermath.
The peace had already been humiliatingly achieved by the previous generation—if Tania’s side broke it first, everything would be ruined.
Isabel couldn’t bear to see anyone else get hurt, not because of her.
So, as Tania’s voice rose, Isabel wiped every trace of emotion from her face. Even the reddish tint of sunset that had lingered in her expression vanished, leaving only shadow.
“I really am all right, so please… don’t get involved.”
Tania, what can I possibly say to you right now?
To you, who sees your own father being forced to bow his head again and again on the cold stone floor and reflects on this in me?
What can I do to spare you any more pain?
“There’s no need for that.”
Isabel’s subdued voice rang out. On the surface, it sounded no different than usual, even though everything inside her was in chaos.
Living by Kailhart’s side, she’d become used to hiding her emotions.
“Isabel, how…”
Tania let out a hollow, disbelieving laugh, her face rigid as she pulled her hand away from Isabel’s grasp.
“How can you act like nothing’s wrong when things are this bad?”
When Isabel looked into Tania’s red, tearful eyes, she felt her heart ache.
“You’re telling me not to get involved? This isn’t just your problem, Isabel — you have a responsibility towards the people who trust and believe in you!”
As Tania turned and gestured around the room, Isabel finally understood what had felt so wrong to her friend.
“You think keeping you in a place this enormous and surrounding you with expensive things fixes anything? Does that mean the emperor is treating you like a human being?”
This place didn’t feel like a home, but rather an exhibition hall or a museum.
“And you, forgetting the paintings you loved, living like a shadow of your former self!”
It was like she’d been put in storage, treasured only as an untarnished trophy.
“Don’t you see? Even objectively, this can’t just be ignored, can it?”
Isabel flinched at the sudden change in Tania’s tone of voice. She turned and saw Kailhart standing behind them, watching the whole scene unfold.
When had he arrived? Tania had closed the door herself just moments ago. How long had he been listening?
“When did you arrive, Your Majesty?”
“Just now.”
There was no time to dwell on it. He stepped forward, approaching Isabel, and her anxiety spiked.
“I simply thought we might share a meal together, since it’s been a while. After all, it’s not every day an old friend comes to visit.”
Kailhart said, his tone lower than usual.
Isabel quickly dropped her gaze.
She noticed that the attendants on both sides had fallen silent, probably in anticipation of this encounter.
She clenched her fists, trying not to show it.
The situation was precarious. At worst, things could go terribly wrong.
“In accordance with the World Peace Treaty, all people are guaranteed equal human rights. When those rights are violated, people have every right to resist.”
However, as Isabel hesitated and shrunk into herself, Tania clicked her tongue in frustration and referenced the treaty signed in the previous era, not giving Isabel the opportunity to intervene this time.
“Your Majesty, as the person who united this continent, you must be familiar with these terms. Isn’t that right?”
Unlike Kailhart, who showed little reaction, Tania stared at him directly and hostilely, her eyes blazing. There was a storm of enmity in her crimson gaze, but her voice remained steady.
“You sit on the throne, bearing the weight of the crown. You’re responsible for countless lives. Surely you shouldn’t handle matters out of personal feeling, letting emotions dictate your rule?”
“I agree.”
Kailhart replied with a careless sneer.
“You’re always so quick with flowery words in public. But every once in a while, you manage to say something worthwhile.”
He threw her anger right back at her, as if to say: Is friendship really so important that you’d throw away your own treaty with the empire?
“What exactly are you implying?”
Tania shot back, her fists clenching tightly as she read between the lines. The air became charged with tension.
‘No…’
Isabel’s eyes trembled as she bit her lip.
Things were spiralling out of control. She had to act before it went any further; before they reached the point of no return.
“How can you treat another human being — no matter whether she’s from a defeated nation — like an object or a plaything for your bedchamber?”
“Your Highness!”
Tania’s aide, pale with shock, tried to stop her, but it was too late. The fury in Tania’s voice could no longer be contained.
She pressed on, her voice rising even higher.
But Kailhart remained completely expressionless. Even as the ruler of a vassal state openly defied him, he looked down at the scene with a face as cold and unmoving as stone. Isabel knew this side of him all too well—it was nothing like the man he became when they were alone.
His indifferent gaze made the room grow icy, stifling the air and scraping across their cheeks.
Now Isabel understood why people called him the ‘heartless sovereign’ and the ‘incomprehensible ruler’.
“You do like to wag that tongue of yours, don’t you?”
“What—?”
“Well, if things don’t go your way, I suppose you’ll just use your head again.”
‘Just like your father did before you.’
His tone was devoid of any warmth as he hurled the precedent set by her late father right back at her.
Tania ground her teeth at his words. For Isabel, it was as if her ears were ringing underwater.
Now, there was only one option left.
“My friend has offended Your Majesty.”
Isabel said, stepping forward and kneeling without hesitation. She bowed until her forehead touched the floor.
“This is not a matter for diplomatic dispute, Your Majesty.”
Everyone around—the attendants serving Kailhart and Tania, their aides and everyone else present—gasped in shock. Only Isabel’s quiet voice echoed through the room.
“This happened because of me, so please let any punishment fall on me alone.”
“Wait, Isabel, why would you—”
Tania’s voice rose beside her, but with her head burning, Isabel barely registered the words.
“Please… I’m begging you.”
“You—what do you think you’re doing, Isabel?!”
‘What am I doing? I’m just doing my best to fix this.’
Isabel thought, gritting her teeth. Thump, thump, thump — her heart pounded wildly. She could feel the chill of the stone floor against her forehead and the cold racing through her body as her blood seemed to drain away, but it didn’t matter.
If bowing her head would resolve this, she would do it a thousand times over. She didn’t care if people called her spineless or irresponsible. Like Tania’s father before her, she would prostrate herself on the freezing stone as many times as necessary.
It was better than watching her loved ones suffer because of her.
“How—how could she—?”
“Shh, keep quiet… Don’t get involved.”
Those present whispered amongst themselves, unsure of what to do. Kailhart nodded briefly. People nearby stepped back in surprise as he lowered himself to one knee and embraced Isabel.
The onlookers fell silent; some stood open-mouthed in shock at the sight of the Emperor kneeling with her.
However, Kailhart’s expression remained unchanged — he was utterly unaffected by what anyone else thought.
His eyes flicked towards Tania and her attendants, dismissing them coldly as if to say, ‘This is not your place to intervene.’
Tania hesitated for a moment.
Or was it something else? For just an instant, she thought she saw something different in Kailhart’s gaze when their eyes met.
